Neighborhood Overview
From The Master Plan - Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation
Old Brooklyn and Brooklyn Centre have distinct characteristics and assets to support neighborhood investment efforts. The area is known for its well maintained and highly valued single-family housing, historic architecture and walkable neighborhoods. Both areas have stable populations with higher than average home ownership and household incomes relative to other Cleveland neighborhoods. Both areas have well established small and medium size businesses.
Contents |
Regional Location
The Brooklyn Centre and Old Brooklyn neighborhoods are part of the City of Cleveland, on the city’s west side. The area is bounded by the City of Brooklyn to the west, the City of Parma to the south, Brooklyn Heights and Cuyahoga Heights to the east, and the Cleveland neighborhoods of Stockyards, Clark-Fulton and Tremont to the north. The Study Area is approximately 5 miles from Downtown Cleveland and within an eight mile radius of the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
Demographics
The following are a few highlights of the demographics of the neighborhoods. The study area is the combined area of the Old Brooklyn and Brooklyn Centre neighborhoods. At the time the planning process was conducted, these two neighborhoods comprised most of the areas of Ward 15 and Ward 16, with small portions of the Stockyards and Clark-Fulton neighborhoods also included. Map 2.2 illustrates the ward boundaries and neighborhood boundaries existing during the planning process, 2007 to 2009.
While U.S. decennial census data is available from NEO CanDo at both the neighborhood level and at the ward level, estimates for 2007 that were provided by the Anderson Economic Group in the Comprehensive Market Strategy Report were the combined totals of Wards 15 and 16. Since current data is only available for the combined totals of Wards 15 and 16, the 2000 census data is reported as both the combined totals of the neighborhoods as well as of Wards 15 and 16.
A more detailed review of the neighborhood’s demographics is included in Chapter 8, with extensive data in tabular format included in Appendix A.
Population
- In 2000, there were approximately 43,350 living in the Old Brooklyn and Brooklyn Centre neighborhoods, a 4.2% decline since 1990.
- In 2000, there were approximately 46,050 people living in Wards 15 and 16, a 3.5% decline since 1990.
- The latest (2007) population estimate for Wards 15 and 16 is 43,359, which is a 5.8% decline since 2000.
- Since 1990, the Latino population in the Study Area has increased significantly and by 2007 is estimated to comprise nearly 14% of the total population in the neighborhoods.
- By 2000, Brooklyn Centre was a more diverse neighborhood than Old Brooklyn, though both neighborhoods are comprised of less than 30% of non-white residents.
- In 2000, 48.4% of neighborhood residents were female.
- Over 1,000 city employees live in Old Brooklyn; more than 11% of the 9,000 municipal employees
Households
- The number of households declined slightly (1.6%) between 1990 and 2000 for the two neighborhoods,
- The 2007 estimate of average number of persons per household was 2.3 persons for Wards 15 and 16, similar to the 2000 statistic of 2.32 persons per household. The drop in number of persons per household is starting to level off; the largest decline was between 1960 and 1980.
- In 2000, 29% of all households in the Study Area were families with children under 18. The number of families with children under 18 increased since 1990: higher than the national average of 24.1%.
- In 2000, 23.9% of households had at least one resident who was 65 years or older.
- In 2000, 12% of households were seniors living alone.
Housing Stock
- In 2000, there were 19,951 housing units in the Old Brooklyn and Brooklyn Centre neighborhoods, a decline of 1.1% since 1990.
- The neighborhoods’ decline in the number of housing units from 1990 to 2000 was less than the city of Cleveland’s decline of 3.8%.
- In 2000, 71.3% of the housing stock in Brooklyn Centre and 43.1% of the housing stock in Old Brooklyn was built prior to 1940. In comparison, 49.3% of the housing stock in Cleveland and 28.8% of the housing stock in Cuyahoga County was built prior to 1940.
- At the time of the 2000 census, less than 10% of the housing units in the Study Area were vacant.
- As of 2000, 55% were owner-occupied, which was much higher than for the city of Cleveland (40%).
- In 2000, 12.2% of the single-family houses in the neighborhoods were occupied by renters, which was closer to Cuyahoga County (9.1%) than to the city of Cleveland (19.4%)
- In 2007, the median value of single-family houses in the neighborhoods was $103,707.
- The average sales price of a single-family home sold in 2007 was $43,365 in the Brooklyn Centre neighborhood, $77,512 in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood, and $50,101 city-wide.
Income and Employment
- The 1999 median household income was $32,576, compared to $25,928 for Cleveland and $39,186 for Cuyahoga County.
- There was a slight increase in the combined overall poverty rate for the two neighborhoods, from 13.7% to 13.9% between 1989 and 1999, but the neighborhood’s poverty rate was still 47% lower than the 1999 overall rate of 26.3% for Cleveland.
- The percentage of elderly residents living in poverty increased between 1989 and 1999 at a higher rate than the neighborhood rate, from 10.4% to 12.6%.
- In 2000, 66.7% of the adult population in the neighborhoods had at least a high school degree.
- Only 11% of the adults had a bachelor degree or higher in Old Brooklyn and Brooklyn Centre, compared to over 20% in Cuyahoga County.
- In 2007, the Anderson Economic Group estimated that almost 19,800 people worked in Wards 15 and 16.
Community Facilities, Amenities and Attractions
- In 2008, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo attracted 1,208,261 visitors, the 16th straight year the Zoo's attendance has topped the 1-million mark. The Zoo's 2008 attendance was about on par with that of 2007, which saw 1,229,273 visitors. The Zoo is Northeast Ohio's most-visited year-round attraction, and ranks in the top 20 zoos nationally in attendance.
Land Use and Zoning
There are just over 4,403 acres of land in the initial study area encompassing Wards 15 and 16. A more detailed discussion on land use patterns and existing zoning districts within the neighborhoods is included in Chapter 8, Background Research. TABLE
